I've lost my joy.

I have lost my joy.

 It's been a slow process over several years.   It happens when you offer to help someone out and they take advantage of you continually until you have nothing left to give.

A few years ago an organization I was a part of had a change of leadership.  Without asking me first, the previous leader told the new leader that I would help him out.  I am very much an introvert, I do not like being in front of crowds and I'm very uncomfortable.  What I was roped into doing involved being in front of a crowd.  I did say I would do this temporarily but they would have to find somebody else.  It's been three years and they've made no effort to find a permanent replacement.  Once a week, every week.  We did have one person offer to help out, but when I offered to step down and let him take over, he stepped back and now doesn't do it at all.  Lately they want to change things and want me to teach new things.  I have been saying for three years that I am not a teacher, I am not a leader.  It is not my gift, not my calling.  I get emails and messages telling me that I should do things differently but nobody offers to step up and take over.  Because of this, I ended up leaving the organization as this is the only way to force them to finally find a replacement.

I once had joy doing what I do but because someone took advantage, I have lost the joy.

The next chapter in the Dentures Online saga

Well, things aren't looking too good about having new teeth for the new year.  They got my last impression on November 15 and I didn't get the next fit until today...a month later.  I was told that it takes ten days to process a wax fit, and was told two weeks ago that they were going to overnight them from the lab.  I don't think I've gotten a truthful statement from them ever.

This fit, the bit was fixed, the alignment was fixed, but they are still too big.  This means that if I'm lucky, I'll have the next fit by Valentine's Day.  Yet another impression (I have no idea what they've done with the last two) and sending the box back.

Here's the second fit

 

These do look a little better in...however I can't open my mouth without them falling out.

 

So...now the wait begins again.  I did send a report to the Attorney General's office.  I'm debating if I should just wait for them to take action or continue pestering Dentures Online until I have the denture I was promised.

The latest in the Denture.com saga

The latest...I got them in a chat and got the instructions for the first fit.  They received the kit back on the 15th.  I chatted today and they're again doing the "late next week" thing that they did with me the last time.  They also lied to the BBB with my complaint trying to say they tried to call me but I wasn't home.  It's my cell phone, they've never tried to call, didn't even bother leaving a voice mail if they DID call.  So now it looks like I'll have to dig out my phone records for the time frame to prove they never called.  This is the worst experience I've ever had.

Dentures Online Review

It's been almost three years since I last posted.  There really hasn't been much of anything worth posting about that I haven't put on my Facebook or anything I really wanted to share with strangers until now.

I've worn an upper denture plate since I was 29.  In the past year it started to crack.  It wasn't so bad at first and I was able to deal with it.  However I love eating carrots...raw carrots.  I also like to chew ice.  The hard biting and chewing caused the crack to worsen and eventually it cracked through.  This is my current denture, the white stuff is where I've glued it back together so I can go to work with teeth in my mouth.  I can't eat with it though.

 I am poor.  I work part time in retail which is not the highest money making profession by a long shot.  I am also going to college online but still have a few years until I have my Bachelor's degree and can try for a better job.  Because of this, I searched for a low-cost way to fix or replace my denture.  I called a few dentists but because of the age of the denture, 15 years, they would not repair.  Replacement dentures were quoted between 2,000 - 5,000 dollars.  I did some research and found Dentures Online.  I looked at reviews, checked out their Better Business Bureau page and did not see anything negative about them, and they were charging only $495 for a full upper denture plate.  I used some money from my student loans and placed the order in early September.   I got step 1, the imprint kit, right away and sent it back.  They received it on September 23, 2013.

For anybody who does not know how mail order dentures work, this is from their website.  I had the calendar/clock open to use as a date stamp.

They also published this as the expected time frame (this is important here)

So I figure I'll have new teeth by early November.  Oh buy was I wrong.  I expected to receive step 2, the wax fit in a couple weeks.  When it didn't show up, I emailed and asked for an update.  It took them 4 days to answer to say "it's at the lab in process"  and they'd send a tracking number when it was done.  A week later I heard nothing so I emailed again.  Once again I got a "it's in the lab, should be done next week" answer.  Week later, still nothing.  I went into their live chat to get immediate answers and was told that they were backed up and my order was awaiting process.  This was 2 MONTHS after they got back the imprints.  When I mentioned getting a refund because they were beyond their promised time frame (5-7 weeks from imprints to final denture). they started circling around and making other promises.  I was told that the denture couldn't be done until Monday (I chatted on Wednesday) because the technician was off for the rest of the week.  What business of worth has one technician and lets him take time off when they're so backlogged it's taking two months between step 1 and step 2?    I finally got an email from them on November 6 saying that step 2, the wax fit had shipped.  Here's what I got:

The DVD is an instruction DVD so I would know what to do next.  Check out the label on the DVD (keep in mind, this is STEP 2)

Yeah, they sent the instruction DVD for the first step, taking the initial impressions.  They sent the impression putty (the colored stuff in the little cups), but no trays to use it in.  I tried the wax fit in my mouth and the fit is terrible.  It's way too big, the edges are so rough that it hurts to put in.  The shape is not what was in the impression I sent them.  Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of the initial impression because I did not think that I could be sitting here two months later trying to get my teeth.   Here are some comparison pictures, my current denture that I took the mold of on the left, what they sent on the right.

In my mouth, this is the right side.  My real denture on the left, the wax fit on the right.











The center.  My real one has super glue on it because the crack is between the two front teeth.









In my mouth, this is the left side

The original teeth have been ground down over years of use, and from sanding when I tried fixing with Repair-It so I don't have an issue with the teeth themselves, but the gum mold is just terrible.   I'm waiting to hear back from Dentures Online about sending the wrong Instruction DVD and find out what do I do next.  I hope I don't end up waiting another 2 months for the next wax fit.  I would love to be able to eat Thanksgiving dinner with my family but I don't think that will happen.

Here's a few pictures of what the wax fit looks like in my mouth as they did request pictures of the denture in but I'm not sending them in until I find out how to fit the wax and how to adjust it so it fits properly and they make me the right size final denture.

 Look how crooked they sit!  They're so far forward that I feel like a horse with them in.

I definitely do NOT recommend using Dentures Online.

11/12/13 Update:  Got a representative in another live chat and I have instructions on what to do with the putty.  They would not answer my question whether this will end up taking another 6 weeks to get the next fitting.  I think I'll make sure to put "RUSH, PROCESS IMMEDIATELY" on the box.

Holiday Shopping last minute

As a retail worker, I detest last minute shoppers.  There haven't been any sudden announcements of new holidays in a long time, yet people seem very surprised that one is coming up.  So, if we all know the holiday is pretty much the same time every year and we have a year to prepare, why do we feel the need to shop for it the day before?

I had to work on Christmas Eve.  I think this is completely unnecessary since 1) everybody's had from December 26, 2009 to prepare for December 25, 2010 and 2) Christmas merchandise is out starting right after Halloween.  The first thing that happens when I get to work is somebody standing in the aisle yelling "Where the $&@(# is Windex"  if you're using it to clean that potty mouth, it's in aisle 13.  Just before lunch I get yelled at because we sold out of cookie tins.  Ok, were you told just this morning that you're going to a cookie exchange?  I doubt it.  We've had notices up for the last two weeks that the store would close at 6pm on Christmas Eve and not be open on Christmas Day.  What happens at 6:02?  Somebody wants to buy booze.  Sorry, closed at 6 means closed at 6 no more browsing no more purchasing.  Get to the checkout and get out of here so we can go home.  You had all year to booze it up don't infringe on my time because you didn't plan.

Now, I can see having to run to the store because you ran out of milk, or marshmallows but not the day before to buy the entire meal.  You have a year to prepare, use it wisely.

Also, Walgreens by me was actually open on Christmas Day.  What are they thinking? ($$$$$)  Don't they realize their employees have families and maybe they'd like to spend the day with them?  Or is it about the almighty dollar?  I don't know about you, but I refuse to shop at any store that is open on Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Those days are meant to be spent with family, not with a bunch of idiotic shoppers who didn't plan very well.

*edited to correct a grammatical error*

Things overheard at WalMart

As much as I didn't want to, I had to go to WalMart this morning to get some things I need for a dessert I'm making.  I'm amazed not so much at the abysmal customer service but with the idiocy I see and hear there every day.

Heard just today:

Customer (actually, this was me):  Where can I find waxed paper?
Employee:  I dunno, did you look in school supplies?  

Maybe if I was going to write a dissertation with it

In the parking lot:

"Why are there so many cars?"    Ummmm because you're in a parking lot?

"Weird, the ground is all wet."   Because there's water falling from the sky!  Run for your lives!

The last time I was in, my total was $7.27  I gave the clerk a $10 bill and the 27 cents.  It confused her, she didn't know how much change to give me. 

I had a cashier who ran out of some coins that was required for my change.  He said "I'm out of ten centses" and called for change.  I was in a hurry so I said "Just give me 2 nickles, I'm in a hurry".  He looked confused and said "I don't think I can do that."   Ummm...last I looked 2 nickles was equal to one ten centses.

Deadbeat Dad Issues

I'm revisiting the topic of my first post.  Why?  Because I'm still dealing with it and I'm very frustrated.

My son is 19 years old.  I've been fighting to get child support for....19 years.   When I got the first support order, the father quit his job and moved out of state.  He claimed that he couldn't pay his support because he couldn't find work.  Thankfully, Illinois told him "tough, you still owe, pay up".  For a while, his parents were sending in the payments for him, I don't know why they stopped, but they did.  For 15 years, all he was required to pay was $25 per week.  Yes, you saw that correctly, Twenty Five Dollars Per Week.  I never got a cost of living raise in support or anything...why?  Because as soon as support was being taken out of his paycheck, he'd quit his job.

Now, a year after he no longer has current support, I'm still fighting him for the $3800 in back support he owes. His excuse...."It's a hardship".  Hardship?  He doesn't have to do anything but have to send a check every week.  I was up all night comforting a baby through his fourth ear infection in 6 months.  I was the one rushing a 3 year old to the ER after a mirror fell on him and cut his leg.  I was the one who had to try to explain to a 5 year old why he couldn't get a new Power Ranger toy every day.  I was the one who had to explain why the other kids at school have a daddy and he doesn't.   Believe me, Mr. Deadbeat knows nothing of hardship.

Why am I posting this now?  Because once again, I have checked to see if he's made a payment, only to see that nothing for the last month.  The last payment he sent was $50.  It really makes me want to start a facebook page to say that "Eric Langley of Friendship Wisconsin is a Deadbeat Dad"

The best dental care...

I've had some pretty bad experiences with "professional" dentists.  From one who over charged (wanted over $10,000 to fix my mouth) to one who just wanted to pull everything, and one who thought he was 'doing a favor' by drilling my wisdom tooth then leaving it open with the nerve exposed, thusly costing me almost $600 to have it surgically removed.

Hence my trepidation with going back to a dentist.  However a few months ago I ended up with a badly infected tooth that caused my jaw to swell bad enough to make it look like I was holding a tennis ball in my cheek and took 2 weeks worth of antibiotics to get rid of.  I do not have dental insurance because the one that is offered through my employer covers so little, it's nothing much more than a discount club.  My last dentist visit was for a check up, x-ray, and an extraction...they covered $25.  So for many years I hadn't set foot in a dentist office, mostly because I couldn't afford it and because of prior bad experiences.

I have since found a really excellent dentist, and she's at a neighborhood 'free' clinic.  I have not heard nice things about clinic dentists and doctors...mostly to the tune of "they don't get paid much to do that so they don't care about you."  Well, in this case it's the exact opposite.  These people are in the business to do what it's meant to do, help people who need it.  They're not in it for the money.  IMO, this is the best care one could get.  Now, I put "free" in quotes because while if you have no income and no insurance it is free, however they have a sliding pay scale for people who do have income.  In the past month I've only paid about $300 for 2 extractions, 2 permanent fillings, and one temporary filling.  I go back in a month for one more filling.  Then I need a crown and something to fill in the gaps from extractions and we're done.  Much cheaper than $10,000 huh?

Sorry Big Bucks Dentist...but you can finance your new Mercedes with somebody else's mouth.

For anybody looking for free or low-cost dentistry, do a Google search for "free dental work", that's how I found mine.  Look to see if you have an Aunt Martha's Healthcare Network near you  www.auntmarthas.org

Product Endorsement

For the record, I am not receiving anything from any companies for writing.  Heck, chances are none of them even know I exist  LOL  When I do find something that works like advertised, I like to share it.

Normally, stuff "As Seen on TV" rarely is what they advertise on television.  I actually found an ASOTV product that really DOES work as they say on TV.  Heel Tastic.   I actually picked up a stick of this at Walgreens recently just to give it a try.  I do occasionally get very dry skin on my heels and bottom of my feet, as well as my knees and elbows.  The first time I used Heel Tastic I could see a difference right away.   It does have a slight odor, hard to describe it...kind of minty, but not medicinal like some lotions I've tried.  It also works for my knees and elbows.

Well worth the $9.99 I spent at Walgreens.

McDonalds

A few weeks ago, I went through a McDonalds drive through a little bit past 10pm. I'd closed that day and really wanted a frappe. I pulled into the drive through and got an automated greeting saying Welcome and would I like to try one of their new frozen McCafe beverages. Yay, that's exactly why I stopped.

When the order taker got on the intercom, I ordered a Quarter Pounder meal with a caramel frappe as the drink. The girl then said "We already cleaned the machine". Um, but you just asked if I wanted a frozen McCafe drink..."We cleaned the machine already. There's no coffee drinks". Now, the posted hours of this drive through say it closes at midnight during the week, 1am on weekends. Why would they close down the coffee drinks 2 hours before closing? So I cancelled the order and went up the street to Wendy's. They were able to make a frosty-cino at 10:30pm.

When I got home, I sent a complaint to McDonalds via their website and told them I was offered a 'frozen McCafe drink' but when I tried to take them up on their offer I was told no because the machine had been cleaned. I also said that I went to Wendy's who served me a frosty-cino 30 minutes before closing.

The next day I had a voice mail from the district manager to apologize (he left two messages, because of course they always call when you're not at home), and in yesterday's mail I got a letter of apology from the owner and a coupon for a free small frappe. I'm thinking I'll save it for Saturday, the next day I close to see if I can get one at 10pm.

Yeah, it's been a while

Why has it been so long? More of the same stuff that's been so aggravating I've wanted to scream, or chuck it all and join a convent (and I'm not even Catholic).

The car issue: The car is fixed. Turned out NOT to be the alternator, but the alternator belt was gone. Not broken, just not there. Apparently it broke and fell off somewhere. Also, the serpentine belt was near rotten so I had to replace that too. Good news, instead of $500 for alternator, it was $150 for belts. While I had the car in, I told them to put in a new battery since I had no idea how long that rebuilt one was there, might as well change that while I had it. So, $300 later, my car was running with 2 new belts and a new battery. The next day, it started thumping when I turned left. Not good. Brought it back in, both front axles needed to be replaced...$500. Only problem I've had since was the serpentine belt came loose and started to squeal, but that was under warrantee so they fixed that no charge.

I'm still dealing with the insurance about dropping the old car and adding the new one. I had gotten a letter right after the accident that said I had 30 days to replace the car to keep my insurance current. I bought the new car 29 days after the accident. When I called to get the new car insured, the girl on the phone said I couldn't drop the old one until the adjuster closed the claim. Um Ok, but I don't own the car anymore...she said to call the adjuster and have him close the claim. For 2 weeks, I paid premium on the wrecked car, then for 2 more weeks I paid a double premium. I'm still trying to get a straight story from somebody at MetLife on what's going on. First, the girl who took the information to insure the new car said they could pre-date the end of the first car to the day after the accident. The adjuster said they could only go back to the day when I returned the rental car, and I did not need to keep the wrecked car insured after I accepted their total loss offer. I called back, talked to another girl about dropping the wreck, she tried to say I couldn't drop it until the claim closed, so I told her what my adjuster said, I don't own it so I can't insure it. She finally dropped it, but for the wrong date. In the mean time, my new car is insured as "car 2" and not getting the discounts that should be applied. Now they're saying that if the pre-date the drop on the wrecked car and add the new one, the premium will be higher because of a "lapse" in coverage...2 weeks? They gave me a month to replace the car and now they're going to penalize me for using 2 weeks? I'd love if somebody at MetLife would get their head out of their butt long enough to come to some conclusion and get the story straight.

Work wise...new policy now forbids me from mentioning the company name in a negative manner, so while I can say they suck, I can't tell their name. However, if anybody's been keeping up with business news, you'll figure it out *g*

The corporate fat cats have decided that in order to cut payroll costs (so says the guys with the $100,000 salaries) they would "streamline" the store management. Where we used to have one manager over grocery and one manager over drug (we do have a much larger drug section than most grocery stores) there would be one manager over the entire store. Of course that would mean that at least half the store level managers would be losing their jobs. Good move! Also, instead of telling one manager "you're fired" and letting the other one take over, they changed management in just about every store. My store got a former drug manager who knows nothing about managing grocery. Some stores have a grocery manager who knows nothing about managing drug. See where this is going? Stores are now managed by somebody who doesn't know diddly about what he's doing. I rarely see my manager because he's over in grocery learning how they do things, so my store is being run by the assistants. To top it off, we lost the best assistant to another store and got one who knows less than a clump of dirt. So basically, we have no leadership and corporate fat cats wondering why customer service scores have dropped to about 30%.

Corporate fat cats, I dare you to work just one month at store level and see what your moronic decisions are doing to the people who are doing all the hard work for minimum wage while you sit in your cushy offices pocketing $100,000 a year.

More Car troubles

Well, the car needs an alternator and since I bought it "as is", I have an $1850 lawn ornament. Actually, as soon as I get my tax refund deposited, I'm taking it to be fixed. Going to replace the alternator, get a real battery (it has a Bear Cat battery...never heard of them? Me neither. It's reconditioned), and have them look at the brakes because there's a slight whistle. I'm hoping to get this fixed soon with my income tax refund, otherwise it's a nice little car.

I'm still fighting to get my money back from Enterprise, and I'm thinking I'm probably out what they stole. I got a letter from my bank that confused me, I need to call for clarification. It reads like I'm getting money back, but where there are supposed to be amounts and dates, the spots are still blank. They included a copy of letters received from Enterprise claiming that I gave them the OK by signing the contract...then they included somebody else's contract (which was for what Enterprise claims I had), and the kicker...they included the other person's credit card number! I was shocked! I have this other person's name, address, telephone number, and their credit card number. No, I'm not going to do anything with this information, but not everybody is honest. I'm glad I canceled my debit card and got a new number because who knows who Enterprise is giving my information to!

Work has been the same. Unfortunately this is the time of year when retail sales drop so our part time workers are barely getting any hours. Thankfully my being full time guarantees 40 hours, however with less part timers, it's also meaning I'm doing more work that's not mine so once again, my department is suffering because I'm not there. Oh well, I've told the managers that I need the time in my department, and if I'm not in it, I can't work it.

Insurance, banks, credit ratings, and car dealers

I think I'm close to the end of the car accident nightmare. Finally got the check from my insurance company last week, banked it this past Monday. Went to another car dealer that afternoon. They tried to get financing, but because of my repo last year, nobody's giving me financing..actually according to the letter saying why it's because of a wage garnishment that is 7 years old (it drops from my credit report in September)...which was for my ex-husband's credit card (that he put my name on the account without me knowing). Wednesday I went back to the dealer after work, he was trying another lender trying to get me financing, but that one said "not without a cosigner" but he did have a few "cash buy" cars...older cars that were low-priced and meant as a "cash and go" purchase. He had a 1997 Suzuki Esteem with only 78,000 miles on it (not a roll over, the odometer has 6 digits) and I could have it tax, title, new plates for $1850. I test drove it, bought it and took it home.

The only problems so far hve been a need to replace the wipers (total crap, didn't even hit the windshield), gas cap (previous owner had a locked cap on it, not good in Chicago winters), and possibly the battery. I'm hoping it's not needing an alternator, It needed a jump Wednesday when I bought it, dealer said it was because the car sat in the lot for 3 weeks in the cold, had to charge the battery last night, this morning it started, but I'm taking my parents car to work instead.

I love my bank :)

Nope, this is not a rant, and they're not giving me anything to say this...but National City Bank is the best.

I called them this morning to find out how to keep Enterprise Car Rental from getting into my account. Basically, I have to close out my current debit card and be reissued another one. I can live with that, just have to change my online billing information for my home phone company and my cell phone.

They are putting through disputes on the two additional charges from Enterprise due to me not authorizing them. They said it will take their dispute resolution team about 4 days to decide if Enterprise was wrong to take money out of my account. I explained that I had received no notice of the charges nor was I phoned in advance to authorize them. If found to be in my favor, I get that money back plus the overdraft fees. They are also waiving their $8 per day 'continuous overdraft fee' for the trouble (I will get those fees back too).

Update on insurance and car rental

I'm still in car insurance hell. I FINALLY was able to get somebody on the phone to let me know what was going on. They sent out a packet of documents on the 18th, which will probably show up in my mail box tomorrow (I hope), which I need to sign, and return with the title for my car. The return will be via FedEx 2 day, once they receive the documents, they'll issue me the check. Of course this means I won't have the check until probably next week. I work until 6:30 tomorrow so it won't be until after then before I get the documents, send them back on Wednesday, 2 days is Friday..Christmas Day, no delivery. Next day is Saturday, nobody's there on weekends, it won't be received until Monday, and I probably won't have my check until Wednesday. So 3 weeks after I total my car, I'll finally be able to replace it.

As for Enterprise, I returned the car tonight before they decided to attack my bank account again. They wanted an ADDITIONAL $120 in fees. I fought it, told them they owed me for the overdraft charges on my bank account, we fought it out for a while, them standing behind their farce of a "contract", only pointing out items hidden in fine print after I disputed them. They were willing to cut the fees to $60 as a "sorry we stole your bank account" measure. They kept saying "you didn't read the contract?"...well when you're standing outside in 30 degree weather and it's blizzard conditions....no, I signed where they said and went home. They completely took advantage of my situation and the weather conditions to screw me into a contract that was going to cost me a couple hundred bucks out of pocket. We'll see how long they're willing to wait for their $60, however now that they have my bank card number, I might have to have my bank reissue a new one.

Never rent from Enterprise, you'll get screwed.

The joy of snowstorms

The Midwest got hit with a big snowstorm on December 8. Weather reports were saying the worst would fall overnight into Wednesday morning, so I figured I'd be OK going to work on Tuesday. There was already about 3" on the ground and this was the first time I was driving my car on snow. It was also the last. This was the Saturn I got in March from a local church. I was doing OK until I got to where I had to make a left turn onto another street. I started to slow down as I went into the turn lane, but the car kept going. I collided with a Dodge Dakota truck. The Dodge was able to be driven away, but my car had to be towed. The policeman who took the report was nice enough to take me the rest of the way to work, which was closer than going back home. My boss was nice enough to let me use the phone in her office to make my phone calls. My insurance covered a rental, and referred me to Enterprise. Here's where the trouble starts.

First off, it took my insurance a week for my insurance to even look at the car to determine it was totalled. I finally got to talk to them on December 17 to accept the offer. I was supposed to get a call from their total loss department within 24 hours, it's been 48 and no phone call. So it'll be 2 weeks in a few days, and I'm still owning a totalled car.

Now, the rental. Enterprise picked me up from work (since I had no car) to get the rental. They told me I needed a credit card. Since I don't have credit cards, I asked if I could use my Debit, they said sure. They said there was a $50 deposit which would be refunded when I returned the car. I figured that was it. Well, they showed me two different coverage options and had me under the impression I had to pick one, so I picked the cheapest. They never said I could have turned down additional coverage since my insurance company was paying for this. I told them several times that was my debit card, it was coming out of my bank account, and there wouldn't be any money in it until I got paid on Friday. They charged the first deposit on Thursday so it overdrafted. When I checked my account yesterday, I had a balance of $-23 even after my paycheck was direct deposited. When I checked account activity, I saw that Enterprise charged me $50 again on the 14th and on the 17th. When I called them and asked why, they told me then that the initial deposit was only good for 3 days because of the cost of the additional insurance. The guy on the phone said I could go back and sign off on the additional insurance. I was not happy because they had me under the impression it was required. It would have been nice if they would have 1) disclosed at the time of the rental that the deposit would only last 3 days and 2) notified me when there would be additional money taken from my bank account.

I told the guy that with the addition of the overdraft fees they caused ($108) plus their multiple charges for deposits, they got my entire paycheck. I now have no money for food, and no money to put gas back in their car before I return it, which will be another charge. I thought they did not bill additional charges until the car was returned...which they did not disclose either.

This accident has ended up costing me much more than just my car. I'm still going to be without transportation until after the new year at the rate the insurance company is going to settle the claim. If it weren't offered via payroll deduction I'd probably change companies, and definitely NOT renting from Enterprise again.

Retail Shopping tips for the Holidays

Customer Service

Actually, this isn't a complaint about bad customer service I have received...but it's about....bad customers!

The last few days at work, I've seemed to get the real doozies of customers to deal with. Every one assumed "customer service" meant that I can move the moon if they snap their fingers. Wrongo! Here's some tips to ensure you do receive what truly is good 'customer service'.

1. Make sure the service you are expecting is offered. One of my problem customers seems to think that the checkouts double as bank. Sorry, but they don't. We can't give you your change in specifically split up denominations. If your change is $20, you get a $20 bill. Sometimes we may be able to split it into 2 $10's, but not all the time. That's what a bank is for. There's been too many problems with "quick change artists" that many retail establishments will not allow the clerks to break up change for anybody. Yes, we CAN do it, but many times, it's against policy. Just like you wouldn't go to the deli to order a birthday cake, you shouldn't do your banking at the checkout.

2. Don't be a chronic complainer. That only serves to give you a reputation and nobody will want to wait on you. We have a regular customer that we've dubbed "Godzilla" because that's what she acts like when she's in the store. Nobody wants to wait on her because no matter what we do, it's just not good enough and she complains. After a while, nobody even pays attention to the complaints so when there's a legitimate issue, nothing will be done because "oh, it's the complainer again". Hold your complaining until there's something worth complaining about. If you don't like the clerk's hair color or makeup, keep it to yourself.

3. Don't be pushy. It's 2009, you will have to wait in line. Try to be patient, and if there's more than one checkout, feel free to use another one. Today I was waiting on a customer and it was taking a while since he was renting a carpet cleaner. There were about 5 regular checkouts open other than the camera counter. The next customer started complaining about having to wait in line. Seriously, the louder somebody complains about having to wait, the longer they'll be made to wait.

4. Store policy is not the employee's fault. Also, if you had one employee who did not follow policy, don't expect that every employee will do the same. There's a reason that some products are either locked up or sold at a special counter. If it were OK for customers to walk around the store with expensive or high theft items, they wouldn't be locked up. Just because one clerk said it was OK to take cigarettes with you around the store, doesn't mean all of them will.

5. Don't be upset when you're not the first priority. When you're checking out somewhere other than the regular checkouts, you may NOT be the priority customer. My store has a camera counter that also has registers. It's not a full service checkout, yet we do get a lot of people who think it is (refer to point 1 above). Firstly, it IS a camera counter and priority will go to customers who have photos on order. If there are no photo orders, then we'll deal with checking out.

Remember, the clerks are people just like you, please treat them with respect. They're expected to do a lot for the little pay they get and they deserve your respect.

Happy Halloween!

This is actually a non-venting post (so far, I haven't been to work yet..."What do you mean you're out of candy? It's Halloween!"), but I wanted to say "Happy Halloween" and ask if anybody was dressing this year and as what? Send pictures and I'll post the good ones. :)

Things to consider when you're at the drug store

A lot of people know that I work for a drug store chain. On a daily basis I get asked questions that either I can't answer, or the answer is so obvious I really just want to roll my eyes and walk away.

So....I present you a list of the most common questions/comments I get, and what I'm really thinmking (and it's quite possible this applies to every retail employee in every retail store).

"Oprah said this product is good for my illness"....Um, is Oprah your personal physician? I doubt it, so please don't take her word as fact. What works for Oprah (or any other celebrity) won't necessarily work for you. This goes the same for stuff you read in the newspaper (gotta love Dr. Gott) or in magazines. ALWAYS before trying something new, talk to your doctor first to make sure you actually NEED it, and that it won't interract with something you're already taking.

"Do you have any of this in the back?" ... never We don't have a back room big enough to have the entire store in back stock. Actually, stores keep very little backstock because it's a money loss to have it sit in storage. Unless it's a popular selling item, chances are pretty good that we will not have it. Also, the fact that we ordered it doesn't guarantee that we'll get it in. Any store's stock is dependent on a central warehouse, that may service hundreds of stores so it's very possible that even they will run out of an item if it becomes quickly popular.

"Can I have a raincheck?" ... most of the time, yes however a raincheck is only in case we're out of stock on a sale item. A lot of people ask for raincheck because we're out of the product they have a 25 cent off coupon for. Also, it's useless to get a raincheck on seasonal items, or items that are not sold in all locations. If the tiem never comes in, it's a wasted raincheck. Also, rainchecks do have restrictions. We don't really believe that you really need to have 20 bottles of ibuprofen for a dollar each, that's just being greedy (and we never order that large a quantity without a special order). Also, they do expire so don't get mad at us because you forgot about your raincheck and never got to use it.

"What should I take for.....(insert malady here)?" This is a question that really should be asked of a doctor or pharmacist. When I tell people this, they reply "oh they're busy", or "I dont' want to bother them"...well you need to bother them, because asking medical advice from the high school kid who's stocking cold medicine is just plain stupid. Floor people have no medical training and are not qualified to give medical advice, that's why we have a pharmacy. There are things to consider, such as the age of the patient, weight, other medications being taken, etc. that the stock clerk won't know. It's a HUGE liability on the store to have a sales clerk give out medical advice. Chances are pretty good you'll get the wrong information and it could be lethal. Best to get medical advice (and this includes what vitamin to take, what pain killer is better, even down to what to use for poison ivy) from a medical professional.

"Why haven't you gotten this in?" or "When will you get this in?" We really have no idea, but most of the time I'll make something up that sounds believable. We're told so little at store level, we're lucky we know the phone number and hours of operation! We know when our scheduled delivery days are, but we won't know what's in the delivery until it's delivered. So basically, we'll get it when we get it. As for why not, "manufacturer issues". ;)